Movatterモバイル変換


[0]ホーム

URL:


Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

The trouble with memes

Inference versus imitation in cultural creation

  • Published:
Human Nature Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Memes are hypothetical cultural units passed on by imitation; although nonbiological, they undergo Darwinian selection like genes. Cognitive study of multimodular human minds undermines memetics: unlike in genetic replication, high-fidelity transmission of cultural information is the exception, not the rule. Constant, rapid "mutation" of information during communication generates endlessly varied creations that nevertheless adhere to modular input conditions. The sort of cultural information most susceptible to modular processing is that most readily acquired by children, most easily transmitted across individuals, most apt to survive within a culture, most likely to recur in different cultures, and most disposed to cultural variation and elaboration.

This is a preview of subscription content,log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from ¥17,985 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Japan)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Article19 May 2017

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Atran, S. 1990Cognitive Foundations of Natural History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1996 Modes of Thinking about Living Kinds: Science, Symbolism, Common Sense. InModes of Thought, D. Olson and N. Torrance, eds. Pp. 216–260. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1998 Folkbiology and the Anthropology of Science: Cognitive Universals and Cultural Particulars.Behavioral and Brain Sciences 21:547–609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • in pressIn Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion. New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Atran, S., D. Medin, E. Lynch, V. Vapnarsky, E. Ucan Ek’, and P. Sousa 2001 Folkbiology Doesn’t Come from Folkpsychology: Evidence from Yukatek Maya in Cross-cultural Perspective.Journal of Cognition and Culture 1:3–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atran, S., D. Medin, E. Lynch, V. Vapnarsky, E. Ucan Ek’, J. Coley, C. Timura, and M. Baran in press Folkecology, Cultural Epidemiology, and the Spirit of the Commons: A Garden Experiment in the Maya Lowlands, 1991–2001.Current Anthropology.

  • Atran, S., and D. Sperber 1991 Learning without Teaching. InCulture, Schooling and Psychological Development, L. Tolchinsky-Landsmann, ed. Pp. 39–55. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avis, J., and P. Harris 1991 Belief-desire Reasoning among Baka Children: Evidence for a Universal Conception of Mind.Child Development 62:460–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baillargeon, R. 1987 Object Permanence in 3.5 and 4.5-month-old Infants.Developmental Psychology 23:655–664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barkow, J., L. Cosmides, and L. Tooby, eds. 1992The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. 1995Mindblindness. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlin, B., D. Breedlove, and P. Raven 1973 General Principles of Classification and Nomenclature in Folk Biology.American Anthropologist 74:214–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackmore, S. 1999The Meme Machine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, P., and C. Veres 1999 The Perceived Intentionality of Groups.Cognition 71:B1-B9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch, C. 1991 Teaching in Wild Chimpanzees.Animal Behaviour 41:530–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, R., and P. Richerson 1985Culture and Evolutionary Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, P. 1994The Naturalness of Religious Ideas. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavalli-Sforza, L., and M. Feldman 1981Cultural Transmission and Evolution. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, L.-H. 1972 A Cross-cultural Comparison of Cognitive Styles in Chinese and American Children.International Journal of Psychology 7:235–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, N. 1986Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin, and Use. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • 2000 Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework. InStep by Step, R. Martin, D. Michaels, and J. Uriagereka, eds. Pp. 90–155. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coley, J., D. Medin, and S. Atran 1997 Does Rank Have its Privilege? Inductive Inferences in Folkbiological Taxonomies.Cognition 63:73–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csibra, G., G. Gergely, S. Bíró, O. Koós, and M. Brockbank 1999 Goal Attribution Without Agency Cues: The Perception of "Pure Reason" in Infancy.Cognition 72:237–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C. 1859On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection. London: Murray.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D. 1984Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins, R. 1976The Selfish Gene. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1982The Extended Phenotype. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1993 Viruses of the Mind. InDennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind, B. Dahlbohm, ed. Pp. 13–27. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1999 Foreword. InThe Meme Machine, by S. Blackmore. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennett, D. 1995Darwin’s Dangerous Idea. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1997 Appraising Grace: What Evolutionary Good is God?The Sciences 37:39–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durham, W. 1991Coevolution. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, P. 1992 An Argument for Basic Emotions.Cognition and Emotion 6:169–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellsworth, P. 1991 Some Implications of Cognitive Appraisal Theories of Emotion. InInternational Review of Studies of Emotion, vol. 1, K. Strongman ed. Pp. 143–161. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J. 1983Modularity of Mind. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, R. 1988Passions within Reason. New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gigerenzer, G., and P. Todd 1999Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, S. 1980The Panda’s Thumb. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, S. 1993Faces in the Clouds. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, W. 1964 The Genetical Evolution of Social Behavior.Journal of Theoretical Biology 7:1–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, W., and G. Orians 1965 Evolution of Brood Parasitism in Altricial Birds.Condor 67:361–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heider, F., and S. Simmel 1944 An Experimental Study of Apparent Behavior.American Journal of Psychology 57:243–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyes, C., and B. Galef, eds. 1996Social Learning in Animals. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschfeld, L., and S. Gelman, eds. 1994Mapping the Mind: Domain-specificity in Cognition and Culture. New York: Cambridge University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Hull, D. 1988Science as a Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hume, D. 1957The Natural History of Religion. Stanford: Stanford University Press. (originally published in 1757)

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S., V. Slaughter, and S. Carey 1998 Whose Gaze Will Infants Follow? The Elicitation of Gaze in 12-month-olds.Developmental Science 1:233–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman, S. 1993The Origins of Order. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawai, M. 1965 Newly Acquired Precultural Behavior of the Natural Troop of Japanese Monkeys on Koshima Islet.Primates 6:1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keltner, D., P. Ellsworth, and K. Edwards 1993 Beyond Simple Pessimism.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64:740–752.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lack, D. 1968Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds. London: Methuen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. 1991 The Theory of Mind Impairment in Autism: Evidence for a Modular Mechanism of Development? InNatural Theories of Mind, A. Whiten, ed. Pp. 63–78. Blackwell.

  • Lettvin, J., H. Maturana, W. Pitts, and W. McCulloch 1961 Two Remarks on the Visual System of the Frog. InSensory Communication, W. Rosenblith, ed. Pp. 757–776. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lévi-Strauss, C. 1962Totemism. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, A. 1996Thought Contagion. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lumsden, C., and E. Wilson 1981Genes, Mind and Culture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marr, D. 1982Vision. New York: W. H. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, M., D. Nisbett, and K. Peng 1995 Causal Understanding Across Domains and Cultures. InCausal Cognition: A Multidisciplinary Debate, D. Sperber, D. Premack, and A. Premack, eds. Pp. 577–612. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nisbett, R., and D. Cohen 1996Culture of Honor. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nisbett, R., K. Peng, I. Choi, and A. Norenzayan 2001 Culture and Systems of Thought: Holistic vs. Analytic Cognition.Psychological Review 108:291–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norenzayan, A. 1999Rule-based and Experience-based Thinking: The Cognitive Consequences of Intellectual Traditions. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinker, S. 1994The Language Instinct. New York: William Morrow.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1997How the Mind Works. New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Premack, D., and A. Premack 1995 Origins of Social Competence. InThe Cognitive Neurosciences, M. Gazzaniga, ed. Pp. 205–218. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romney, A. K., and C. Moore 2001 Systemic Culture Patterns as Basic Units of Culture Transmission and Evolution.Cross-Cultural Research 35:154–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger, L. 1999The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God’s Laws in Everyday Life. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semon, R. 1921The Mneme. London. (originally published in 1904 asDie Mneme als erhaltendes Prinzip in Wechsel des organischen Geschehens, Leipzig)

  • Sober, E., and D. S. Wilson 1998Unto Others. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spelke, E. 1990 Principles of Object Perception.Cognitive Science 14:29–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperber, D. 1985 Anthropology and Psychology.Man 20:73–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 1996Explaining Culture: A Naturalistic Approach. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • in press An Objection to the Memetic Approach to Culture. InDarwinizing Culture, Robert Aunger, ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Sperber, D., and D. Wilson 1986Relevance. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M. 1994 The Question of Chimpanzee Culture. InChimpanzee Cultures, R. Wrangham, W. McGrew, F. de Waal, and P. Heltne, eds. Pp. 301–317. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tooby, J., and L. Cosmides 1992 The Psychological Foundations of Culture. InThe Adapted Mind, J. Barkow, L. Cosmides, and J. Tooby, eds. Pp. 19–136. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waddington, C. 1959 Canalisation of Development and the Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics.Nature 183:1654–1655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warburton, F. 1967 The Purposes of Classification.Systematic Zoology 16:241–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G. 1966Adaptation and Natural Selection. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1992Natural Selection. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer, H., and J. Perner 1983 Beliefs about Beliefs.Cognition 13:103–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS, 9 rampe de l’observatoire, 66660 Port, Vendres, France

    Scott Atran

Authors
  1. Scott Atran

Corresponding author

Correspondence toScott Atran.

Additional information

Scott Atran is a cognitive anthropologist at the CNRS, Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Natural Resources at the University of Michigan, and Leverhulme Visiting Professor of Anthropology at University of London-Goldsmiths. He publishes in anthropology, history of science, psychology, and biology. He directs a multidisciplinary project on Lowland Maya natural history.

Rights and permissions

About this article

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from ¥17,985 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Japan)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Advertisement


[8]ページ先頭

©2009-2025 Movatter.jp